Refrigerating apparatus having reheating means



Jan. 3, 1956 E. s. DYBVIG 2,729,072

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS HAVING REX- EATING MEANS Filed Jan. 8, 1951 FIG.4

IN VEN TOR.

nited St tes REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS HAVING REHEATING MEANS 1 Edwin S. Dybvig Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application January 8, 1951, SerialNo. 204,956

17 Claims. (Cl. 62 -129) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatuses and more particularly to air-conditioning apparatuses which may also be used for heating and dehumidification.

Many refrigerating systems have been devised from time to time for optional heating as well as reheating,-

where required to permit bodily movement of either the condenser or evaporator into or out of heat exchange relation with the enclosure to be conditioned. Y

Briefly in Fig l, I show a rectangular air conditioning :unit in which the motor compressor unit is fixed to the .chassis and connected by flexible refrigerant conduits with the condenser and the evaporator. The'condenser and evaporator are slidably mounted upon the chassis so that either or both may be placed in the air stream circulating from the room to be conditioned. These elements are moved by means of a crank which turns the threaded shaft :upon which the condenser and evaporator are mounted. In Fig. 2, a circular type of unit is disclosedin which ,the motor compressor unit is fixed to the chassis and is connected by flexible refrigerant connections to the condenser .and evaporator. The condenser and'the evaporator are separately rotatably mounted upon a pivot; located at the center of the chassis so that either may beflmoved; into or out of the air stream flowing to the enclosure tobe,

conditioned. h a l p h p I Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shownr In the drawings: p V v Fig. lis a plan view partly diagrammatic embodying one form of my. invention; 7 v 3 Fig. 2 is another plan view partly diagrammatic shownsaae iorm o my. e tio as r n dfcr. oo

an ne;

1 "Referring L to achieving; and more particularly tori A there isshown walk 20 forming a pan of a robin or an'nerssure zz tobe conditioned. Inan opening sachets-window opening 24 in the wall 20, there-is pro -Fi 34 az-d asr mni 'jv n a he an oi i fiin, r ear a ged 1 pmvidellea ins fift s. los e;

earranged to provide reheating following de-- vided a rectangular chassis 2 26 which constitutes the sup porting means for the entire refrigerating system. The

chassis 26 has a portion 28 located outside the wa1l'20 and a second portion 30 located inside the wall 20. These two portions are separated by a vertical partition wall 32 which lies generally in the same plane as the wall 20 of the enclosure. Fixed to the chassis 26 in the portion 28 is'a sealed motor compressor unit 34; This sealed motor compressor unit 34 is connected by a flexible refrigerant supply con-- duit 36 toa fin and tube-type condenser 38. This fin andi tube-type condenser 38 is connected by a flexible capillary restrictor tube refrigerant conduit 40 with a fin and tubetype evaporator 42. The evaporator 42 is connected by a' flexible refrigerant suction conduit 44 with thesuction'.

inlet of vthe motor compressor unit 34. The compressor unit 34 withdraws evaporated refrigerant from the evaporator through the flexible suction conduit 44 and forwards the refrigerant through the flexible supply conduit 36 to the condenser 38 where it is condensed and the con- 7'': densed liquid flows through the flexible capillary restrictor tube 40 to the evaporator 42 where it re-evaporates. The

capillarytube 40 provides suflicient restriction between.

the condenser 38 and the evaporator 42 to assure that condensation of the refrigerant will take-place in the con-- denser 38 and evaporation will take tor 42.

The partition 32 is provided with an opening 46 and the condenser 38 is slidably mounted upon the chassis 26 so that it may be slid from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 designated by the reference character 38 to the dot-dash line position designated by the reference character 38a. For readily accomplishing this a long threaded shaft 48 is mounted in hearings in the extreme outer wall- 50 and the extreme inner wall 52 and has a threaded con nection with a portion of the condenser 38. A crank 54 is provided upon the inner end of the threaded shaft 48 so that the threaded shaft 43 may be rotated to move the condenser 38 to its dot-dash position 38a for heating puf poses or for heating following dehumidification.

There is also provided a similar threaded shaft 56 upon 26 which is rotatablythe opposite side of the chassis mounted in the Walls 50 and 52 in a similar manner.

This shaft 52 has a threaded connection with a portion of the evaporator 42 and is provided with a crank 58 upon" its inner end whereby the evaporator 42 may be moved from its full line position through the opening 47 in the partition .wall 32 to its dot-dash line position designated by thereference character 42a. The refrigerant flow conduits'36,.40 and 44 are sufliciently long and sufiiciently 3 flexible to allow the free movement of the condenser 38 and the evaporator .42 from one position to another as shown It is however, not necessary that the entire length of these conduits be flexible. The openings 46 and 47 are effectively sealed to prevent the leakage of air through the partition wall 32 by the end fins of the condenser 38 and the evaporator 42.

The wall 50 together with the partition 32 and the top and bottom positions of the chassis 26 forms a duct arrangement for the circulation of outside air. A motor-' driven fan 62 forces the air within this duct arrangement through'an opening in the transverse partition wall? 64. The bottom of the chassis 26 is slanted toward a sump 63 beneath the fan 62 so that any condensed moisture drained from the evaporator 42 will flowto this sump 63..

Thefan 62 isshown provided with a water flinger ring 66 which dips into the sump 63 and into any condensed.

water 'collecting in the sump 63-and throws it into a spray which is carried to the condenser 38, along with the air; This spray will be evaporated by the condenser33 thereby, assisting in the cooling of this condenser.v

A second duct arrangement is formed by the parti .Patented Jan. 3, 1956 place in the evaporation 32 and the wall 30 together with the bottom and top walls of the chassis 26. This second duct is provided with an electric motor-driven fan 68 which draws air from the enclosure 22 through the evaporator 42 and forces the air through the fan opening in the partition wall 70 for return to the enclosure 22. Some moisture is almost always condensed from the air by the cooling action of the evaporator 42. Any water condensed from the air by the evaporator 42 is conducted to the sump 63 and transformed into a spray by the rim 66 and carried by the circulating air to the condenser 38 for discharge to the outside.

It is often desired to dehumidify the air in the room without any substantial cooling of the air therein. This is simply accomplished by operating the crank 34 to move the condenser 38 to the dot-dash line position 380. In this arrangement the air, after being cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 42, is reheated by the condenser 38 in the position 3811. When it is desired to heat the enclosure 22 instead of cooling it, the condenser 38 is moved to its position 38a and then crank 58 is operated to move the evaporator 42 to its position 42a. In this position, reverse cycle heating takes place with the evaporator 42 cooling the outside air drawn through the evaporator 42 by the fan 62 while the air within the enclosure 22 is drawn by the fan 68 and forced through the condenser 38 in the position 38a and returned to the enclosure 22. The condenser 38 gives off heat to this air which is returned to the enclosure 22.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, there is shown a wall 120 forming part of a room or an enclosure 122 to be conditioned. In an opening, such as a window opening 124 in the wall 120, there is provided a circular chassis 126 which constitutes a supporting means for the entire refrigerating system. The chassis 126 has a portion 128 located outside the wall 120 and the second portion 130 located inside the wall 120. These two portions are separated by a vertical partition wall 132 which lies generally in the same plane 120 of the enclosure.

Fixed to the chassis 126 in the portion 128 is a sealed motor compressor unit 134. This sealed motor compressor unit 134 is connected by a flexible refrigerant supply conduit 136 to a semicircular fin and tube type condenser 138. This fin and tube type condenser 13,8 1s connected by a flexible capillary restrictor tube refrigerant conduit 140 with a fin and tube type evaporator 142. This evaporator 142 is connected by a flexible refrigerant suction conduit 144 with the suction inlet of the motor compressor unit 134.

The motor compressor unit 134 causes evaporation of the refrigerant in the evaporator 142 by withdrawing evaporated refrigerant therefrom through the suction conduit 144 and forwards the compressor refrigerants through the conduit 136 to the condenser 138 where it is con densed. The capillary tube 140 provides sufiicient restriction in the flow of the condensed refrigerant from the condenser 138 to the evaporator 142 to insure that condensation will take place in the condenser 138 and evaporation in the evaporator 142.

The portion 128 is provided with a fan 162 driven by an electric motor 161. The fan 162 is provided with a shroud 164 so that the outside air may be drawn in through one half of the condenser and forced through the opposite half of the condenser and back into the free Iozutsiie atmosphere when it is in the position shown in If the circular arrangement is considered like a clock, the air is drawn in through the area represented by 12 to 3 oclock and forced outwardly through the area represented by 9 to 12 oclock. The electric motor 161 also drives a second fan 168 which with the aid of the shroud 170 draws air inwardly through the evaporator 142 and discharges the cooled air back into the enclosure 122. Some moisture is almost always condensed from the. air by the cooling action of the evaporator 142. The fan 162 is provided with a slinger rim 166 which extends into the sump 163 directly beneath the fan 162. The bottom of the chassis 126 slopes toward the sump 163. The rim 166 takes any condensed moisture collected in the sump 163 from the evaporator 142 and throws it into a spray which is carried by the air circulation into contact with the condenser where it assists in the cooling of the condenser 138.

The evaporator 142 is made movable by being supported upon the cantilever supporting arms 172 rotatably mounted upon a vertical pivot pin above the motor 161 in the center of the apparatus. The condenser 138 is supported by the cantilever supporting arms 176 rotatably mounted upon the vertical central pivot pin in a similar manner. A handle 178 is provided for moving the evaporator 142 and a handle 180 is provided for moving the condenser 138.

If it is desired to merely dehumidify the air in the room, the handle 180 is operated to move the condenser 138 through the opening 146 in the partition wall 132 to the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the air is first drawn in from the room through the evaporator 142 where it is cooled sufficiently to condense moisture there from. The fan 168 then forces the air through the portion of the condenser 138 which is located in the room portion of the chassis 126 so that the air is reheated following its cooling and dehumidification. In Figs. 2 to 4, the condenser 138 is made so large that a portion will remain in the outside atmosphere in the position shown in Fig. 3. However, if desired, the condenser may be made more compact so that all of the condenser may be used for reheating in Fig. 3.

When it is desired to heat the room, the handle 178 is operated to move the evaporator 142 through the opening 147 in the partition wall 132 to the position shown in Fig. 4. The handle is then operated to move the condenser 138 to the position shown in Fig. 4 so that all of the condenser is in the portion 130 within the room. In this arrangement, the fan 168 draws air in through the right half (3 to 6 oclock) of the condenser 138 and then discharges the air through the left half (6 to 9 oclock) of the condenser 138 back into the room. This heats the air in the room 122 The air outside the wall 120 of the room is drawn in through the evaporator 142 by the fan 162. The fins of the condenser 138 and the evaporator 142 nearest the openings 146 and 147 seal the openings 146 and 147 to prevent leakage of air through the partition wall 132. The evaporator 1'42 extracts heat from the outside atmosphere and the refrigerating system serves the function of the heat pump to provide heat for dissipation by the condenser 138 to the room 122.

Thusin this simple way, provision is made for cooling as well as dehumidification with reheating and also for heating by the heat pump system.

It is claimed:

1. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a condenser element, an evaporator element, one of said elements being movably mounted upon said apparatus for movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said enclosure, a refrigerant compressor fixed within the apparatus, and operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the other element being flexible refrigerant flow connections.

2. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a condenser element, an evaporator element, one of said elements being movably mounted upon said apparatus for movement into and out of heat exchange rela tion with said, enclosure, a refrigerant compressor fixed within the apparatus, andoperative refrigerant flow con nections between said elements and said compressor, the

refrigerant flow connection between said movablyjmount ed element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted elementl and the other element being flexible refrigerant flow connections, and means for bodily moving relative .to the remainder of the apparatus said movablymounted element I into and out of heat exchange relation with said enclosure.

3. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure iIlCilldr ing a supporting means, a partition wall supported on said supporting means to divide the apparatusinto a portion in heat exchange relation'with the air in the enclosure and a second portion in heat exchange relation with a medium outside the enclosure, a condenser element and air evaporator element mounted upon said supporting means, one of said elements being movably mounted for movement from one side of the partition wall to the other to place said element into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or with the medium outside the enclosure, a refrigerant compressor, operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and the compressor, the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the other element being'flexible refrigerant flow connections.

4., Air conditioning apparatus foran'enclosure including a supporting means, a partition wall supported on, said supporting means to divide the apparatus into a portion in heat exchange relation with the air in the enclosure and a second portion in heat exchange relation with a medium outside the enclosure, a condenser element and an evaporator element mounted upon said supporting means, one of said elements being movably mounted for movement from one side of the partition wall to the other to place said element into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or with the medium outside the enclosure, a refrigerant compressor, operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and the compressor, the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the other ele ment being flexible refrigerant fiow connections, and means for bodily moving relative to the remainder of said apparatus said movably mounted element into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or the medium outside the enclosure.

5. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including means for circulating air from the enclosure through the apparatus and returning it to the enclosure, a condenser element, an evaporator element, one of said elements being movably mounted for movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said circulating air, a refrigerant compressor, and operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the other element being flexible refrigerant flow connections.

6. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including means for circulating air from the enclosure through the apparatus and returning it to the enclosure, a con denser element, an evaporator element, one of said elements being movably mounted for movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said circulating air, a refrigerant compressor, and operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the compressor and the refrigerant flow connection between said movably mounted element and the other element being flexible refrigrant flow connections, and means for bodily moving relative to the remainder of the apparatus said movably mounted element into and out of heat exchange relationship with said circulating air.

7. Refrigerating apparatus including means providing two separate fluid streams in two predetermined generally fixed paths, a condenser element located in heat exchange relation with the first of said fluid streams, an evaporator element located in heat exchange relation with the second fluid stream, a refrigerant compressor, operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, some of said connections being flexible, and means for bodily moving each of said elements relative to the other from one of the fluid streams to the other to reverse the heat transfer relationships.

8. Refrigerating apparatus including means providing twoseparate fluid streams in two predetermined generally fixed paths, a condenser element located in heat exchange relation with the first of said fluid streams, an evaporator element located in heat exchange relation with the second fluid stream, a refrigerant compressor, operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, some of said connections being flexible, and means for bodily moving relative to the remainder of the apparatus the condenser element out of heat exchange relationship with the firstair stream and into heat exchange relation with the second air stream.

9. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a condenser element, an evaporator element, both of said elernents being movably mounted upon said apparatus for movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said enclosure, a refrigerant compressor fixed within the apparatus, and flexible operative refrigerant flow connection between said element and said compressor.

10. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a condenser element, an evaporator element, both of said elements being movably mounted upon said apparatus for movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said enclosure, a refrigerant compressor fixed within the apparatus, flexible operative refrigerant flow connection between said element and said compressor, and means for individually moving said elements into and out of heat exchange relation with said enclosure.

11. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a supporting means, a partition wall supported on said supporting means to divide the apparatus into a portion in heat exchange relation with the enclosure and a portion in heat exchange relation with a medium outside the enclosure, a condenser element and an evaporator element separately movably mounted for movement from one side of the partition wall to the other to place said elements individually into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or the medium outside the enclosure, a refrigerant compressor, and flexible operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and the compressor.

12. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including a supporting means, a partition wall supported on said supporting means to divide the apparatus into a portion in heat exchange relation with a medium outside the enclosure, a condenser element and an evaporator element separately movably mounted for movement from one side of the partition wall to the other to place said elements individually into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or the medium outside the enclosure, a refrigerant compressor, flexible operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and the compressor, and means for bodily moving relative to the remainder of said apparatus said movably mounted condenser and evaporator elements into heat exchange relation with either the air within the enclosure or the medium outside the enclosure.

13. Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure including means for circulating air from the enclosure through the apparatus and returning it to the enclosure, a condenser element, an evaporator element, each of said elements being individually movably mounted for individual movement into, and. out of heat exchange relatiomwith.

14., Air conditioning apparatus for an enclosure, in

cluding, means for circulating air from the enclosure througlrthe apparatus and returning it to the enclosure, a condenser element, an evaporator element, each of said, elements being individually movably mountedv for individual movement into and out of heat exchange relation with said circulating air, a refrigerant compressor, flexiblev operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, and means for bodily moving relative to the remainder of the apparatussaidjmovably mounted. condenser and evaporator. elements individually into and out of heat exchange relationship. with. said circulating air.

15.. Air conditioning. apparatus for an enclosure including means. for conveying air to the enclosure, a

condenser element, an evaporator element, one of said.

elements being movably mounted for movement into and out, of heat exchange relation with said air, a refrigerant compressor, and operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor.

16. In a self-contained conditioning unit, a casing of the type adapted to be mounted in a Window opening with a first portion projecting into the room and a second portion projecting into the outside atmosphere, an evaporator, a condenser, a. compressor, operative refrigerant fiow connections between the condenser, the evaporator and the, compressor, ,said. firstpportion.projecting. intothe.

room. having two, opening, communicating, with. the

room,, saidcondenser being, located. in. series with, one. of saidropenings,.saidlleyagorator being located in series with the other. offsaid openings and fanmeans within the. casing-for. drawingair firstthrough one of. said openings and thence. in. heat. exchange relation with saidv evaporator and then passing this air into heat exchange;

relation. with, said condenser. and back into the room throughtheother of said-openings.

17. Airv conditioning, apparatus for an enclosure includinga condenser. element, an evaporator element, oneof. said elements,v being movably mounted upon said apparatusfor movement into and out of heat exchange relation. with.- said. enclosure, a. refrigerant compressor.

fixedwithin the apparatus, and operative refrigerant flow connections between said elements and said compressor, the. refrigerant; flow connection between said movably mounted system, including; means for varying the. ratio of sensibleheat removedto latent heat removed.

References Cited'in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,986,863 Terry Jan. 8, 1935 2,154,136 Parcaro Apr. 11, 1939 2,268,451. H'ulll Dec 30, 1941 2,286,491. Kucher June 16, 1942. 2,361,090 Dickey: Oct. 24, 1944 

